Do you generally replace or instead repair broken things?

[msc545]

Some people just discard broken things and replace them, while others repair them or hire people to make the repairs. Which do you do?

[slatyb]

that depends on the thing. I try to buy high quality goods so they don't break and need repair. Last year I bought a Breville air fryer / toaster oven ($400) that will last for many years. We love it and use it multiple times a day. I bought a Zojirushi rice cooker, $200, but it will also last for many years. I bought a sofa from Club Furniture, $3000. Very comfortable, cleanable leather. The last one I had from them lasted 25 years.

I bought All-Clad cookware and Henkels knives 25 years ago and they will last another 25.

Most of our furniture is prewar (WWII), high quality. It's not popular now, so it's inexpensive. We got a beautiful curly maple wave-front high boy for $150; a Stickley dining room set (table, two leaves, six chairs) for $700...

Good stuff is worth fixing. Cheap things generally are not.

[Orion84]

I'm cheap AF, and I'm good with my hands/tools, so if something can be repaired, then I will zombiefy the shit out of it until it has hung on well beyond it's normal life span.

Half of everything I own is just begging to finally be allowed to die, but I refuse to let it.

[goaded]

We bought this system for using rainwater for flushing toilets and watering plants that cost thousands 20 years ago. It's broken now, but I think I can replace it with pumps and switches costing a couple of hundred which will use less electricity!

[Orion84]

@goaded Yes! Bring it back to life! Frankenstein that poor contraption, and make it serve you until the end of days! There can be no retirement for the machine!

This is the way! 😂

[goaded]

Oh, the old system is toast. The motor that ran it was a big thing that could suck water up and push it up to the upper floors. I'm planning two pumps, both pushing (and only a couple of metres each) and pressure switches to turn them off when the cisterns are full. If the rain water pump doesn't have water, the mains water fills the middle cistern instead.

[Beckybooboo]

We do try to fix things on our own and have some success lol... Where I live, if you can't fix it yourself or know someone that might be able to, you have to just replace it. No one really works on appliances or other household items. Mainly just cars and other things with engines. We do have a friend that does HVAC work, thank God! We needed him this last winter.

[Amy10223]

If it's reparable and something that I like a lot--then I try to repair it. I have a ceramic pencil holder that a student gave me (thank you Greta) from Ukraine when I was teaching and she was a 7th grader. I still have it, although it has cracked many times when it has fallen. It is in the shape of a castle tower, so I really like it.

[exitseven]

It depends. Sometimes it costs about the same to replace something. I keep vehicles for a long time and I try to do preventive maintenance on my power equipment and make them last. However at the end of the day, sometimes it has to be replaced.

[jamesgoldman]

I replace because most stuff I've owned that's had issues was unrepairable like the previous mattress (ended up with a whole bed as it was cheaper)

Clothes tend to get wear holes rather than tears

The boots are moulded soles and cheaper to replace than repair

[NathanDavis]

generally speaking I repair them myself when I can, or have them repaired

only when the repair would become rather expensive or pointless compared to the replacement... then I would get newer stuff

[Sevenpointfive]

you buy at least 3 of everything. not all at once of course, but when you buy a roll of toilet paper. i buy 3 just in case i'm breaking things that day. (but seriously, i do buy in doubles sometimes depending on the purchase. i want a backup)

[goaded]

I try and repair, then I keep the pieces lying around for years!

[NathanDavis]

it will ALWAYS be... one of the most rewarding and satisfying things ever in this life... when it finally happens

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7Fw7bZoPyVU

[7Phoenix7]

I replace... Im not good at fixing things. My ex was and when we were together he'd be like, "I'll fix it."

But I was always ready to just replace because the price to repair was ridiculous 🙄.

[ProbablyClueless]

I like to fix things when I can. Sometimes it’s just not worth the effort

[dustybiker2]

Depends if it's sentimental or not. Sometimes the replacement is improved. Often times the quality is less.

[Staximus]

I try to fix it myself. If I can't fix it myself, I see how much it would cost to repair it vs buy another.

[Wiredone]

I repair what I can repair. I replace what I can't fix

[Ariesman81]

Fix it. But I'm cheap.

[Osborne775]

repair by myself if possible